“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything” -George Bernard Shaw

Over the past 6 years I have been building my life, business and friendships around being vegan and all that goes along with that label. When I first made the choice to go vegan it was because of my distain for factory farming. The way in which we get meat that we use to feed ourselves and to nourish our minds is a terrible and disgusting process. I will never support that system.

Over the last few months my ideas on diet and life have started to change dramatically. At first I was terrified of what was happening, but then I realized that people change, ideas change, and everything changes over time. If people didn’t change their viewpoints on we would never have made same sex marriage legal. Luckily for the world my life choices do not impact the masses.

After years of being a strict vegan I woke up one morning and wanted to eat eggs. This thought was so out of left field that I ignored it, I pushed it out of my mind. Over the next couple of weeks the thought kept cutting in line and taking a seat, front and center in my consciousness. I believe that if your mind and soul keep telling you something over and over again, then you should listen. This may seem like a tiny thing in the eyes of the everyman but in the vegan world, changing your diet from veganism to something non vegan, was like sentencing your own beheading. Many hours were spent in the vast darkness of a sensory deprivation tank, as my heart and mind were locked in an endless jiu jitsu match. After hours of contemplating, my mind and soul tapped each other out. The lifestyle that I have built my being on was coming to an end, I am no longer vegan…

Me being me I had to have a set of rules to go along with the food that I chose to eat. None of the meat that I choose to eat will ever come from a factory farm, it has to be caught by a single hunter that I know, and the animal must have lived its life as the universe intended it too when it was created. No dairy will be consumed, and when I am outside of my home I will eat vegan food only. These simple rules gave me a sense of peace, I was and still am 100% happy with my decision. Yet I was still hesitant to share this new life choice with anyone else out of fear of backlash. My choice to no longer label myself as vegan, does not affect the life of those around me, it will not make the world a better or worse place, it will only affect myself and the single animal that I choose to consume on the rare occasion.

Some of the reasons I decided to make this change was because, I wanted to be more connected to the food that I eat, and I have never seen anything wrong with a person hunting and killing an animal for food. My ideas have always been taboo in the plant based world, the word “hunter” could never be uttered, the idea of being anything but vegan was shunned and thrown away. Rigid ideologies do not sit well with me, as Bruce Lee once said:

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

Shutting down someones ideas because they do not fall in line with what you believe is the sign of a feeble mind. You do not have to always agree with someone, but you should always listen to them fully. Do not get me wrong, there are definitely ideas and opinions that have no place in this world. If you are shouting hate speech or attacking someone else’s beliefs then you will never get me to fully listen. So as you read this, do not take it as I am attacking vegans, or saying they are wrong in anyway. I am just sharing how people change, ideas change, and how my mind changed. When life throws you a curveball you can either let it strike you out or you can swing as hard as you can, and hopefully get a hit.

Last night after a weekend of being social with friends, I was finally alone. As I sat on my couch physically and mentally exhausted I started to cry. On the outside I try to project an image of someone who has their life together, a thriving business and not a care in the world. Unfortunately thats not the case. Letting my emotions out is not something that I am afraid to do, but sometimes these emotions come from my fear of not living my life to its full potential. My fear of not living the life I feel I truly deserve is growing larger and larger everyday. As I enter my 5th year in business I am more fearful than ever. I am not happy with where I am in life, not one bit. There is still a nagging itch in my soul that needs to be dealt with. If I let this fear grow it will swallow me up, but I won’t let that happen. When negative emotions and fear seep into your consciousness you have two options… One, is to let those emotions cripple you and give up, or two face those emotions head on and fight to overcome them. By overcoming your fears you will be able to get on the path that leads you to whatever true happiness is.

If you are afraid to be vulnerable or believe that you’re above doing a job or a task then success won’t come. As I try to change my thought pattern, I know there will be many ups and downs. Slowly though the ups will hopefully become more abundant than the downs.

I have an exercise for everyone to do, say these 3 statements to yourself every morning:

(Name) I am proud of you because… list 7 things

(Name) I forgive you for… list 7 things

(Name) I commit to you that… list 7 things

and list 7 things for each statement for the next 21 days. This exercise isn’t easy, you may have to dig very deep to come up with 7 things for each. Try to come up with different things daily and they don’t have to be super serious either. Somethings you may not be able to come up with 7, thats ok, just be vulnerable with yourself.

Ben I am proud that you… 7 things

Ben I am proud of you because you are passionate about what you do.

Ben I am proud of you because you have not given up on your big dreams yet.

Ben I am proud of you because you have not given in to your inner demons.

Ben I am proud of you because you keep trying to find love.

Ben I am proud of you because you try to take steps everyday towards your goals.

Ben I am proud of you because you are 27 and don’t rely on anyones assistance to live in Seattle.

Ben I am proud of you because you have made it to 27 years old in good health.

Ben I forgive you for… 7 things

Ben I forgive you for being so hard on yourself.

Ben I forgive you for being cold towards people you love.

Ben I forgive you for letting anger get the best of you at times.

Ben I forgive you for talking to yourself negatively.

Ben I forgive you for not seeing the good things that you have in front of you.

Ben I commit to you that… 7 things

Ben I commit to you that I will start to have more positive self talk.

Ben I commit to you that I won’t give up on my dreams, even if they take years to come to fruition.

Ben I commit to you that I will always take care of my physical body.

Ben I commit to you that I will start fresh every morning.

Ben I commit to you that I won’t let myself go to bed upset.

Ben I commit to you that I will always try to help people.

Ben I commit to you that I will keep trying to be the best version of myself that I possibly can.

I am absolutely addicted to being successful in all of my endeavors. I will sacrifice sleep, leisure time, money, vacation, relationships, and just about anything to reach my goals. I don’t worry about what life looks like right now, I am always looking down the road at where I want to be. It doesn’t matter what obstacles I see in front of me, I will work my ass off to get around them and create the life that I really want to live. Some people will say that this is an unhealthy view on life, I say that those people are dream killers! If you have someone in your life who isn’t supporting even your most outlandish goals, then cut them loose. Surround yourself with people who want to help you reach the highest peaks, that you can imagine. If you have a goal right now in your life that you want to accomplish and you aren’t completely obsessed with it, you better become addicted to achieving it, or just forget about it. Only you can make the conscious decision to work hard! Not your parents, friends or family can make you work hard. Make the fucking decision to become the person you want to be, don’t waste time going in circles. It doesn’t matter what you did yesterday. What matters is what you did today to get a step closer to becoming successful. What steps did you take today to improve your life?

Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You’ll find what you need to furnish it – memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey.

Tad Williams

We all know the old saying “Home is where the heart is”, but for me a better saying would be, “Home is where serenity & calmness lies”. As a child I was always told that your home should be your sanctuary, now that I own a home, I am taking steps to create my sanctuary. There aren’t many places in world where you have 100% control over your environment. The place you call home is one of those rare places. If you want to draw on your walls, leave clothes on the floor, or keep it spotless it is your decision to do so. You may have to deal with a partner or family, but for the most part you can still do what you please within the walls of your home, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone.

One step that I took to create my sanctuary was to cut all the cords. What does that mean? Well for most Americans this may be radical, but I no longer have the internet or cable tv in my home. I do not think that the internet is evil, I think it is an amazing tool, but it can consume to much of our precious time. Deciding to not have cable happened years ago, that was simple and a no brainer, I still had the internet to suck up my time and gaze. Home internet is a necessity, I thought. How would I survive? How will I ever know if an octopus could beat a shark in a fight or what all my friends ate for breakfast,lunch and dinner? How could I buy a Homer Simpson Apron at 2am? Life would come to a screeching holt without the internet…so I thought!

On my recent trip I barely used the internet for 3 weeks. It had become the new normal for me to no longer waste hours staring at a screen. When I called my home internet provider to cancel my service, the women on the phone sounded genuinely concerned for my well being. “This young man must be broke” she probably thought. After her concern seemed to disappear she asked me
“Would you like 300 channels of tv plus internet bundled together for the same price you pay now? Will that keep you as a customer?”.

I don’t think she would understand if I told her why I was really canceling. After I hung up the phone and no longer had service, I instantly checked the internet to see if it was still on…it was gone! “Oh god it gone”! A slight bit of panic came over me! Could someone in 2015 actually have a home with no internet? Once I realized that it was gone, I milled around my silent apartment, before getting bored and heading outside!

Over the next few days, I was rarely home, more and more time was spent talking to strangers as I worked at coffee shops, gyms and the good old library. It was invigorating! My productivity skyrocketed, my spending decreased and the amount of time spent outside increased. When it is time to work or write, that was what I did. No more jumping from website to website. The comfort of my home was traded for a faux leather seat at Starbucks. This is not my ideal situation so I want to get my work done as quickly as possible, I didn’t have time to hangout and watch Youtube.

It has been a few weeks now, I have completely adjusted to not having it. Like anything new this seemed daunting at first, but as time went on, it became easier and easier. I challenge you to unplug your internet & cable for a week and see what happens. Maybe it isn’t for everyone, but I think we can all benefit from a little less screen time.

Growing up in the suburbs, I was surrounded by people all the time. There was one neighbor who lived across the street from my family, we will call him Gus. He was very friendly and my family got along well with his, I would see him regularly as a kid. As time passed and I would see less and less of him along with my other neighbors. After a few years of not seeing Gus, I finally saw him and his wife as they were packing up their car to move away from our neighborhood. Another old face was leaving, his home would soon be filled with a stranger. Gus now had Parkinsons Disease, his brain was slowly being destroyed, his soul would eventually be lost to this terrible disease. The juggernaut of time was moving faster than ever for Gus.

Time was just humming along, for me I couldn’t wait for the next birthday or major life event. Being 16 I wanted to be 18, at 18 I wanted to be 21 and so forth. All I wanted was for the juggernaut of time to keep plowing forward, I had things to achieve, life milestones to reach. I didn’t have time to think about my time.

As I have gotten older, I no longer wish that time would go faster, all I want is for it to slow down. Time doesn’t care that you had a great day or a crappy one. Time won’t give you a hug when a loved one passes away. Time doesn’t high five you after something great happens. Time just keeps on pushing forward, with or without you. No human or animal in the history of the universe has ever outlasted time. There will never be a world champion over time, it always wins. The only way that time will ever make a note of an event that happens on the planet is if it is something significant. Time doesn’t remember the man who dutifully goes to work everyday, and is referred to as employee number 871. Time attacks us from all angles like world class boxer Holly Holmes attacked the body of Ronda Rousey. It attacks us with the precision of a trained sniper.

The only way to get the juggernaut of time to slow down is to take the mundane times of life and turn them into something great. Make everyday of your life memorable, no matter what happens! Fight time with new experiences, new adventures and new thoughts.

After my amazing experience in Boulder Colorado, I was ready to keep the good vibes and adventure going. Off to Santa Fe New Mexico for some green chile and reconnecting with my cousin Dustin. I haven’t seen Dustin since I was 6 years old, so I had no idea how well we would get along. Driving to NM was my longest drive of the trip, it was a whopping 8 hours.

As I was driving, thoughts drifted in and out of my mind, I didn’t latch onto any of them. They just came and went. It was actually very nice, for the first time I was truly relaxed on the road. Overthinking is a constant thing for me, every thought I have I try to dissect. Letting all of these thoughts just fall away was a freeing experience. Driving was the only thing that I was doing, no music, no talking, no deep thinking. The hours and miles seemed to just melt away. I just blinked and was as the doorstep of my long lost cousin Dustin!

Pulling up to his house gave me butterflies in my stomach. Would we get along? Would this be awkward? Nope! We instantly started to talk as if we saw each other on a daily basis. He was blown away seeing me! I was no longer the quiet 6 year old boy that he once knew and he wasn’t the awkward prepubescent 12 year old that I remembered. We hugged each other and instantly started to reminisce about walking to get mcdonalds, playing hide and seek in the basement and stories about my older brothers that I had never heard. Friends will come and go but at the end of the day family will always be there. Spending time with Dustin made that hit home. After hours of talking and sharing joints, it was time for bed! Tomorrow was all about exploring!

I woke up early, and was itching to go for a run. All I wanted to do was get away from people even my cousin. I do not know why I get this way, but when I do the only cure is a long trail run. Finding an isolated trail was my main goal, luckily in New Mexico there are plenty of them to be found. Putting on my running pack, filling up my water bottles and setting my gps watch was my first step to calming my nerves. After I had set up all of my gear it was off to a local trail. Pulling up to the trail gave me 100% instant relief, there was not a person in sight! Slowly I began to run, one foot in front of the other, my smile growing with each step! My body and mind were fully in the moment. I felt every step, as an individual movement, every step brought me more joy. The feeling of my feet sinking into the soft red sand, the connection I had to nature at that given moment was something I wont forget anytime soon. Once again all felt right for me.

Exercise is key to my overall happiness. Without exercise I think I would be a very depressed person, and definitely not the person I am today. Anytime life isnt going my way I always turn to it. Being able to have that one thing that I can always rely on is something that I feel extremely fortunate to have. Hopefully everyone can find something that can always make them feel better in life.

After my run I headed back to Dustin’s house. When I arrived we started to talk about our lives and what we were doing with them. Oce you get me talking about my business and passions there is no shutting me up. Speaking to him about how well a plant based diet has worked for me along with daily exercise seemed to really resonate with Dustin. Slowly he began to ask more questions. Our conversation covered habit change, diet, exercise, mindfulness practices. Everything we talked about seemed to be exactly what he needed. After our very long discussion Dustin told me that we was going to give a 100% plant based diet a try. Hearing this made me very happy! My goal isn’t to convert people to the life I live, my goal is to just share what I am passionate about with the world. Seeing that I had an impact on im was fantastic.

My stay in New Mexico was short lived, but proved to be extremely meaningful. Reconnecting with my cousin and helping him to take the first steps to improving his physical and mental health was a wonderful thing. I never expected to have such an impact on someone on this trip. Slowly I have accumulated moments that won’t leave my head for a lifetime.

You never know who you are going to help just by being you! Don’t underestimate the power you have, share yourself with the world and good things will happen! Back on the road… off to Arizona!

22 Days of Solo Traveling: The magnetic pull of Boulder, Colorado is strong!

After only 6 days on the road, my life in Seattle feels like a distant memory. I feel comfortable driving for hours at a time, watching the lines of the road shoot by me. My car has devoured 1500 miles of pavement, with every passing mile my inner calm has grown. Life on the road is something I throughly enjoy. One of my goals for this trip was to figure out what makes me happy and what I need in life. I have realized that travel needs to become a regular part of my life. Boulder Colorado was calling me. I was and still am drawn to it. Leaving Salt Lake City felt great, the excitement I had for going to Colorado was sky high.

Here is the amazing A-Lodge! You can see the creek, at its largest point.

The A-Lodge is located about 3.5 miles from the heart of downtown Boulder. Pulling up to A-Lodge I knew that this place was going to treat me well. AL is located high above Boulder, surrounded by trees the height of skyscrapers, air almost too crisp to be real and a creek that fascinated me beyond belief. This creek was magical, it cut through the earth like a hot knife to butter. The creek flowed with such calm, I couldn’t help myself, I had to put my hands into the crisp cold water and feel the water slide through my fingers. It made me smile, seeing a creek didn’t make me cry and there was no screaming this time, just a silent smile. In front of the office where I had to check in was a giant handmade steel fire pit surrounded by white Christmas lights. The vibe of this place fit me perfectly. I walked into the office and was greeted by a very nice girl named Lindsay. She was very attractive with curly brown hair, kind eyes, a small nose ring and an aura that matched my own. She introduced herself in a way that made me feel like Colorado was the place for me. We chatted for about 20 minutes before she showed me to my room.

My room had a very rustic and simple feel to it. The room was setup to sleep 8 people, there was four wooden bunk beds that looked like they were carved by an old man with a pocket knife. They were simple, sturdy and classic. There was one other person staying in the room with me, a 50 year old man named Reggie. Reggie traveled by motorcycle from Florida to Colorado for work. He was an extremely friendly person, with a beaming smile. We chatted briefly about his travels and just life in general. Hearing him speak about his life on the road was inspiring to me. He told me about some of the things he had seen and done along the way. We talked about the joy and solitude of traveling alone. Traveling alone seems to attract some of the most interesting people. We did not talk much after that first 20 minute chat, I regret not talking to him more. Honestly I wanted to talk more to Lindsay, I had a feeling that we were kindred spirits. I unpacked a few things, gave myself the once over in the mirror and went out to talk to her.

She was someone who I got good feelings from right away, the feelings were mutual between us. I am always amazed at meeting someone new and after a few minutes it seems like you have known each other for years. Lindsay was 30 years old, and has spent the majority of her life working to save money to travel all around the world. Envy rushed over my body, I wanted to live my life that way. As we chatted she told me that she also had a little bit on envy for my life. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence I guess. If I chose a life of travel, then I wouldn’t be living this life that i so enjoy, my life would be completely different. That is not something that is good or bad, you can only have one story line at a time in life. My story has become a life of preaching the benefits of health, wellness, plant based living and exercise to whomever will pay me or just listen to me. We continued to chat and share drinks and joints with each other late into the night. Being in Colorado with this person felt amazing, it was almost unbelievable. Lindsay and I spent many hours enjoying each others company.

The next morning I arose to the smell of rain. The rain drops were like water balloons smashing against the earth. I took this as a sign to rest and stay in Colorado a little bit longer. Being in my car has become very comfortable and enjoyable, but this place had a magnetic pull. Today was a rest day, I enjoyed sipping tea and reading. My rest day was short lived. Me being me laying around didn’t last too long, I had an itch to get moving, so I hoped into my car and headed to Downtown Boulder. Downtown Boulder had a relaxed feel to it, no one seemed to have any rush to get anywhere. The slow steady pace fit my meandering style of walking perfectly. Wearing my organic denim jeans, hiking boots, REI raincoat and my usual short beard made me blend in with all the locals. Boulder could someday be my home! Wanderlust aside my stomach was screaming for food. I headed to Walnut Cafe! WC is a cool little dinner that offers a few vegan options. The waiters and waitresses all had a laid back attitude, none of them were in a rush to do anything. Usually slow service would have driven me insane, but I wasn’t wearing a watch and all I had was free time. I ordered the black bean and tofu burrito with a slice of pumpkin pie. To keep the travel tradition intact I had my pie before the main course. The pie was pretty good but they served it hot, so it was more like pumpkin mash on top of a crust… i devoured it. My burrito was about the size of a regulation NFL football. It was swimming in delicious red chili, served with a mound of refried bean goodness and fresh pico de gallo. I never expected Boulder Colorado’s burrito game to be so damn good. The burrito seemed to be filled with everything a hungry plant based man could want. Tons of fresh tofu, spicy black beans, crisp broccoli, and about 4 million other ingredients and flavors. If I don’t go back to Boulder for the women, I may come back for this burrito.

Walnut Cafe’s Tofu & Black Bean Burrito

Following my exquisite breakfast, I browsed Pearl Street Mall, this is Boulders most well known shopping center, it was comprised of a long strip of stores, with people flowing every which way to buy whatever their hearts desired. This wasn’t a traditional indoor mall, it was outdoors, which fit the outdoorsy nature of Boulder to a T! The rain had lessened to a light mist, so people were out and about in full force. I really enjoyed people watching here, I had no plans of actually shopping, I was there to people watch. Watching the families wrangle their young children, the older couples slowly strolling the street holding the same hand that they have been holding since before I was born, and just taking in the sounds of this new place was fantastic. I sat in silence on a bench sipping on a Matcha Tea, just enjoying the sites and sounds of this new place. The Pearl Street Mall is a must!

My time in Boulder was short lived, my hast to get back on the road was something I regret. I only stayed in the hostel for one night, my other night in Boulder was spent at my new friends house. Staying up for the majority of the night sharing stories, wine and oddly enough home made mashed potatoes was something that I needed and wont forget anytime soon. Following a great night I left Boulder with a feeling of excitement that quickly turned into regret. Boulder had a profound effect on me, it felt like home from the moment I arrived. Meeting a cool girl had nothing to do with it, know all my clients are thinking that! The vibe of the entire city tried to trap me the same way the beautiful nymph Calypso trapped Odysseus on her island in the “The Odyssey” by Homer. I know I will return to Boulder in the very near future.

So far my trip has already had a profound effect on me. The long days of driving, wandering the streets solo, and the nights alone in the wilderness have forced me to think long and hard about my life. Luckily for me I have realized good things.

Like I said in my last post I am a planner, I had a rough itinerary for this trip, I decided to abandon it on day two. My stay in Missoula was short, there was not enough going on there for me, so I left bright and early to head to the sleepy town of Cooke City, Montana. Cooke City has a whopping population of about 120 people year round, in the summer the population swells to 300 people.

To get to Cooke City from Missoula I had the pleasure of driving through a good junk of Yellowstone National Park. Words and even pictures cannot describe the breathtaking landscape. The massive mountains bursting out of the earth, stabbing into the blue sky above me, and the rolling hills that were covered with giant black buffalo. The escape from the city was something that I truly needed. Driving through Yellowstone during the day made me feel so small and insignificant. Everything was massive, from the sky, to the clouds, the animals and just the sheer space that Yellowstone took up. Seeing this beauty made me realize how fortunate I am to be able to take the time to see a place like this. The American tradition of packing up the car and hitting the road for a long stretch of time has become a thing of the past. If you can take one long vacation this year do it by car, you wont regret it. After about five and a half hours of twists and turns through the breath taking landscape I finally arrived, I made it to Cooke City.

Cooke City is a town that time seems to have forgotten, it sprawls about one city block. There are a few bars, a supply store, two or three little hotels and a gas station. Cooke City now serves as a snowmobiling mecca in the winter. Arriving here in October, the town was empty, most of the restaurants were closed for another few weeks. Cooke City was a popular gold mining town starting in the early 1870’s. The town was known as Shoo-fly until 1880 when it became known as Cooke City, MT. It was named after a mining investor named Jay Cooke Jr. He promised to use his considerable influence to bring the railroad through the top of Yellowstone Park from Gardiner. This single move would have made the mining much more profitable in the Cooke area. Congress soon put an end to the possibility and unfortunately, Cooke ran into financial difficulty and lost his bonded mining claims. The towns growth stopped soon there after.

My goal was to head to Lolo Pass campground, it is one of the most isolated campsites in Yellowstone. This trip is slowly making me want to avoid people and cities. The calmness and silence that nature provides me gives me a sense of peace that I am always searching for. When I pulled up to the Lolo Pass sign I made the left turn up the trail. This is where having a Honda Civic was not ideal. The road was very rocky, so my main worry was scraping the bottom of my car or getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, but this is an adventure so whatever happens happens!! Crawling along this winding rock/mud/dirt road at about 4-6 miles per hour became quite meditative. There was one thing to focus on, driving! No one could text me, call me or get in my way. It was just me and my car creeping along. Slowly any sign of mankind started to disappear in my rear view mirror. Like a wave it hits me that I am all alone, not a single soul for miles. If I get stuck here, it could be disastrous. After about 45 minutes of inching up the mountain I finally arrive at a spot that seems to be calling to me. A small opening overlooking Yellowstone, I was out in the open, just me.

Once I got out of the car I couldn’t help but to yell at the top of my lungs, again. My voice shattered the silence! My voice echoed right back to me, the simple joy of hearing my voice echo made me start laughing. Hearing your voice echo is something so simple, but living in the city you do not get to experience this simple joy. After yelling and hooting for a few minutes, I started to laugh. Soon my laughter soon turned to tears, which soon turned to balling my eyes out alone…

When I started my trip I knew at some point some held in emotions would come out, this was the time. As I sat on the front of my car crying, I realized that these tears were not of pain or sorrow, they were tears of joy. Finally I was doing what made me truly happy, going on this solo trip was something that I have always wanted to do. Sitting there alone I realized that I was fulfilling a promise that I made to myself. I promised myself to live the life I wanted, not being influenced by other peoples ideas. The tears didn’t stop they just kept on coming, as if a major dam broke in my mind. If you haven’t cried in a while let yourself go, and just let it all out. After crying for about 15 minutes, I went back to smiling. My body and mind were centered and together. My breathing became even, my heart rate dropped, everything is right in the world for Ben.

After I regained my composure it was time to setup my campsite. I like to think of myself as an outdoorsman… that thought vanished pretty quickly. After spending way longer than I should have setting up my tent it was time to build a fire. I have watched enough “Survivor Man”, I got this. I gathered a bunch of softball size rocks and dug a shallow pit. Gathering the rocks made me think of my childhood building rock walls with my brothers. Gathering the rocks, digging the hole, and finding logs was a blast to say the least. I LOVED IT! Now it was time to build the fire! I lit my fire starter balls and a couple of Fritto chips to get the fire started. FYI Frittos are amazing for starting fires, they hold their flames better than any match. That being said you probably shouldn’t eat them…EVER! Within minutes I had a nice little fire going.

That little fire gave me more joy than almost all of my personal possessions!

Minutes later I no longer had a fire going… In my impatience to let the fire grow at a steady pace, I put to many logs on and it made the fire go out. Slowly I rebuilt the fire, this time I was mindful of the baby flames, I nurtured them with kindling and gently blowing on them. Once I slowed down and relaxed the fire became quite sizable. Which is a pretty good metaphor about how I live my life. When I relax and don’t force things to happen, things always work out better for me. Now that my fire was strong it was time to cook my dinner! I heated up some black bean soup in my little cooking pot over the fire. Sitting in front of the fire, that I had made has become the highlight of my trip so far. The hot soup tasted like a gourmet meal. I was covered in dirt and ash, I was exhausted… I haven’t felt so good in years.

After I finished eating my dinner, I wanted to collect more wood for my fire, so I went of to find some logs. Everything was wet from the afternoon rain, but being an avid “Survivor Man” fan, I remembered that inside of the log is usually dry. I found the mother load of logs, they were all soaked though, and I didn’t have an ax. Caveman Ben came out in full force! I grabbed my first of many logs and started to slam them on the ground, as if I was Thor yielding his mighty hammer. Sadly I am not Thor, the log didn’t break, it just sent vibrations throughout my hands. Back to the drawing board. I found the perfect rock near my tent! I started to slam the logs into the rock, bits and pieces of wood started to explode after every mighty swing! I proceeded to smash logs into this rock for about an hour! Screw the gym, give me a rock and some wood and I am all set. I was dripping with sweat, my hands were aching and my body was satisfied with the work that I had put in. I took all of the wood pieces and laid them around the fire to dry out.

This was the rock I used to smash the logs. My goal was to burn that tree stump… I failed!

It was now night time and I was ready to go to sleep, so I thought. I crawled into my sleeping bag aka my coffin, and instantly freaked out! My feet were trapped and I couldn’t move my arms, this was going to be a long night! As my heart rate raced from my claustrophobia of tight spaces, the temperature nose dived. It quickly went from 40 degrees to about 20! I was able to sleep briefly, I was awoken sharply to a bone chilling gust of wind. The rain cover on my tent was gone! The rain cover on a tent is vital to keeping you warm, it keeps the heat in the tent, Without this I was essential sleeping out in the open. Then something amazing happens, I looked up and saw the most beautiful sky I had ever seen! Being frozen left my mind for a few minutes. The sky was filled with the largest stars that I had ever seen, every inch of the sky was glimmering. They blanketed every inch of the sky. “Lucy in The Skies With Diamonds” came to mind, this was on a whole other level though. Once again the feeling of being small returned!

After my feeling of aww dissipated the cold snuck back into my sleeping bag! I became a human burrito, made up of multiple layers of clothing. I was wearing long johns, sweatpants, a sweatshirt, my winter jacket and a hat all while tucked into my sleeping bag which was zipped up around my face. Without that rain cover I was fighting a losing battle. After about 20 minutes of having all the warmth zapped out of my body, I threw in the towel. Fuck this!! I broke down my tent and put everything in my car! I was heading back to town!

When I arrived back in town, I realized that everything was closed for the night. It was about 3:30am and there was not a single soul to be found. On top of that I had no cell phone signal! I went on the hunt for an open wifi signal, after checking all 3 hotels and having no luck, I had a little bit of trepidation come over me for the first time. As I inched up the dark desolate street searching for wifi, a glimmer of hope popped up on my phone. Bear Claw Pub had an open signal!! Just as quickly as it popped up it was gone. I stopped my car, slowly I tiptoed backwards as if I was the Pink Panther n the direction of the signal. The barely there signal popped up! I was able to get directions to my next stop Salt Lake City Utah. My long drive was underway.

Driving through Yellowstone during the day was magical, at night is another story, it was terrifying! Animals were everywhere, darting across the road. There was not a single street light and the road was covered in fog from the many geyser’s that littered the roadside. I put my car into neutral and rolled through Yellowstone, my foot on the brake pedal for every second of the slow drive! The thought of hitting a deer or another large animal was in the front of my mind the entire time. After about 6 hours of white knocking my steering wheel I finally made it out of Montana and into Idaho, where I promptly passed out on the side of the road. I was awoken by a friendly highway patrol officer knocking on my window. We chatted for a while about my trip, and where I was headed, he directed me to an awesome rest stop up the road, where I fell asleep again.

After my much needed nap it was back to driving. A few hours later I finally arrived in Utah around 12pm. Driving through Idaho was torture, it was the most boring drive I have ever done. It was just flat farm land. Arriving in Utah was breathtaking, the giant mountains jutting up into the pink sky was a sight to be seen! Utah is one of the few places that I am visiting that I have a planned place to stay. Knowing that I had a warm couch in my future was awesome. One of my best friends Joe was letting me crash with him. Once I arrived at Joe’s house we gave each other a hug then soon reverted back to our college days together! We did what we do best, we ate a ton of food! Joe took me to “Vertical Diner” an all vegan diner that served up comfort food! We stuffed our faces to say the least, I had the “egg” sandwich with home fries, biscuits and fried brussel sprouts! Vegans this place is a must if you are in Salt Lake City!

Amazing breakfast at Vertical Diner

Joe had to work for a good amount of time that I was in SLC, so I turned to my phone and went on “Tinder” to find an attractive girl to hangout with for the day. If you are unfamiliar with Tinder it is an app that locates single women within a set radius of you. You then swipe right for yes you find them cool or attractive and left for no. If you and a girl swipe right on each other you can then send text messages to each other. It is a great app for new cities! I was lucky enough to meet up with a very attractive 21 year old University of Utah girl named Jamie. We went to all of the coolest spots on Salt Lake city and Park City. One place that I highly recommend to my bibliophile friends is “Atticus Bookstore”. It is in the Sugar Hill neighborhood. Atticus is a small bookstore with the feel of what Seattle once was. It was warm and cozy, they made one of the best Matcha Teas I have ever had. Following Atticus Books we went to where they hold the “Sundance Film Festival” every year. This place was not my scene, it seemed better suited for an older very wealthy white couple who drives a Mercedes convertible. By this point we were both starving, so we headed to “Mazza” which is a fantastic middle eastern restaurant, another must for my vegan friends. Following dinner we parted ways.

The first few days of my journey have been nothing but amazing. Already I have met many great people, some of those meetings were bitter sweet. There was definitely a few very strong connections with the people I have met. It just makes me sad that they all don’t live in Seattle. Maybe my days in Seattle are numbered?

After a full day of hopping around SLC, it was time to plan my next leg of my adventure… Boulder Colorado!

Today on October 17th 2015 I got into my car at 5am and began my 6000 mile solo road trip. It will be covering 7 states, a bunch of national parks and probably bringing out a lot of held up emotions. I have so many feeling already attached to this journey, fear, excitement, and a little bit of doubt but mostly excitement. Traveling alone has always been something that I have shied away from. Mostly because I was and kinda still am terrified of being alone for too long. Lets also not forget my horrible lack of direction… east,west, what??? I am already outside of my comfort zone and I am loving it. I do not have friends or even acquaintances in the vast majority of places I will be going.

Going on this solo journey will give me time to become comfortable with myself and all the crazy things in my head. Hopefully I will be able to figure out a few big issues that I have been facing at the ripe old age of 26. One of my fears is that maybe I will figure something out that I am not ready for, but life isn’t about always knowing what is coming up next. In my day to day life I have complete control over almost everything I do. Being a personal trainer I tell my clients what to do, and when to do them, in their own homes no less! My life is very routine, train clients, workout, cook food, see friends, eat, sleep, repeat. This trip will throw me head first into many spontaneous days. My goal was to not plan a thing for this trip, I only have two places setup to stay! I will have to figure out where to sleep almost every night. That aspect of the trip is one of the aspects that scares me the most. I am used to always having a warm home to sleep in, and all the creature comforts that come with it. Not having that for the first time in my life, will hopefully give me some new perspective and appreciation for the comfortable life I have.

Today I covered close to 500 miles on my way to Missoula Montana. Honestly I was not quite sure why I chose this as my first stop of many. I figured it out once I actually got into Montana!

This was a view from the highway!

I chose to stay in a private room that I found on Airbnb for my first 2 nights… more about that later! The drive was fantastic, I spent most of it listening to music and podcasts, it was fairly uneventful. At one point in the drive I had the urge to just start screaming at the top of my lungs. For about 5 minutes I just yelled as loud as I possibly could, it felt absolutely amazing! The screaming lead to me laughing hysterically, other motorists probably thought I was insane. One of the benefits of being alone is being able to do things just like that. I highly recommend a good scream next time you are alone in the car. My dad calls it “Scream Therapy”! Other than a few screaming episodes I had a lot of ideas and thoughts pop into my head. The idea of perfectionism came up repeatedly, I will save that for my next post.

After 7 hours of driving I arrived at my destination, an old red house in the heart of Missoula’s “downtown”. I walked into the home and right away I realized that I am staying with 3 20-22 year old college students. There was and still is cheap beer cans everywhere, pizza boxes and an assortment of things everywhere! I wanted an adventure and it is shaping up to be just that. The best part is my “room”. It kind of reminded me of where Harry Potter lived, under the stairs. My bed is a mix between a cot and a twin sized bed!

My favorite part is whenever someone used the bathroom it made my bedroom door pop open! All of these things didn’t actually bother me too much because I was exhausted. I laid down for about 30 seconds before promptly passing out. It was a pretty uneventful first day!

I will try to blog and post pictures as much as possible, or maybe not, I do not know. Hopefully my trip will inspire you get out of your routine and experience all that life has to offer. Life is to damn short not to!

Staying on top of your fitness goals while traveling for business is one of the hardest things to do. Traveling for work can have a huge impact on your exercise routine if you let it. Plane travel is especially tough on the body, between the long hours of sitting, the stress of traveling and all of the radiaiton that your body absorbs while sitting on the plane. A flight from Chicago to Beijing over the polar cap is estimated to give you the same dose of radiation as two chest X-rays. That cannot be good for the body. Luckily for you business travelers there are ways to combat all the negative effects of traveling, while still keeping your fitness game on point! Greene Multisport has you covered, here are 5 simple tips to stay healthy on the road!

Here are five ways to stay fit on the road.

1) Know where you are going!

It helps to know what environment you are stepping into once your plane lands. Often hotels or motels will have indoor gym or fitness equipment in each room, or an outdoor trail accessible for travelers and visitors. Make the best of these for they are there for your use.

When it comes to working out it may be hard to squeeze in a full routine. After knowing your surroundings and equipment available circuit workouts can help turn a sixty minute routine into an effective thirty minute workout. Try doing a pyramid set of burpees, pushups, squats and reverse crunches. Your fitness level will determine where you start 25 – 20 – 15 – 10 – 5.

3) Eat for Success.

Continental breakfasts and all you can eat buffets can ruin your diet and your desire to stay on track. Packing healthy high nutrient snacks like almonds or homemade energy bars. If you forget to bring healthy food with you, head to the nearest grocery store and pick up the food you will need for the trip. Having your own food will keep you from running to the vending machines during your trip.

4) Stay Hydrated.

Drinking water is a great way to combat overeating. It suppresses appetite, prevents bloating, and keeps you energetic while traveling. You can even add your own twist by adding citrus fruits or berries! There are many combinations you can try.

5) Be Consistent.

Never miss consecutive days. It is easy on long trips to get caught up with current events. Remember each day to take time for yourself and your health. Staying fit is a long term commitment one day off will not hurt but remember to hop right back into routine.